Longman / Prentice Hall

English

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The Necessary Shakespeare, 3/E
David Bevington

ISBN-10: 0205652166
ISBN-13: 9780205652167

Publisher: Longman
Copyright: 2009
Format: Paper; 1152 pp
Published: 07/25/2008

Suggested retail price: $70.00
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Extracted from the best-selling Complete Works of Shakespeare, 6/e by David Bevington, The Necessary Shakespeare offers the most comprehensive scholarly apparatus, with the most often taught—necessary—of Shakespeare's work, creating a truly concise yet complete anthology.

 

The third edition of this anthology addresses the two key issues confronted by students approaching Shakespeare today: a lack of knowledge about the historical period and difficulty with the language of Shakespeare's plays. A richly illustrated general introduction offers insight into Shakespeare's England and background on the literary, social, and cultural contexts in which Shakespeare wrote and produced plays. Each play is introduced by a descriptive essay designed to help students appreciate the historical contexts and interpretive issues raised by the play, without dictating students’ interpretations. Completely revised and updated notes and glosses support student readers line by line, paraphrasing Elizabethan expressions in clear and accessible contemporary language.

  • Brief. The Necessary Shakespeare, 3e is a brief version of Bevington's The Complete Works of Shakespeare, 6e–including only those Shakespeare plays that are most frequently taught in college courses. All of the perennial favorites are included, with full annotations and editorial notes. Complete texts of the 21 most popular plays, plus the complete sonnets, are included. 17 plays and the longer poems have been cut, making The Necessary Shakespeare roughly half the length of competing complete works.
  • Editorially authoritative. Edited by well-known Shakespearean David Bevington of the University of Chicago. All notes, historical context, and editorial framework that have made the Longman Complete Shakespeare successful have been retained in this paperback edition. Includes historical photographs, maps, a royal genealogy of England (which helps students with the history plays), and other important source materials.
  • Four-color insert. A sixteen-page insert of four-color art and photos has been retained from the complete edition.
  • Reader-friendly design. The same two-column format and design from the complete edition will be retained. Line glosses and annotations are on the same page as the primary text, making it easy for students to understand Shakespeare's puns, colloquialisms, and idioms.
  • Appendixes. Back matter includes historical maps, the genealogy, a glossary of terms, bibliography of further reading for each play, an annotated selected filmography of Shakespeare films, and textual and source information.

 

·        “Reading Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century,” an entirely new essay that opens the general introduction, poses questions about the relevance and difficulty of Shakespeare for contemporary students and offers practical strategies for readers new to Shakespeare.

 

·        “Shakespeare’s Language,” in the general introduction, has been completely rewritten in order to better introduce Shakespeare’s idioms and vocabulary to novice readers.

 

·        “Films and Videos as a Guide to the Study of Shakespeare,” an entirely new appendix, offers an annotated filmography and advice on how to use films and videos to study a play.

 

·        Thoroughly revised and updated notes and glosses provide contemporary readers the support they need to understand Elizabethan language and idioms in accessible and clear modern language, line by line.

 

·          VangoNotes: How to Study Shakespeare offers students a new way to hear and experience Shakespeare’s language, in a portable, iPod ready format.   The price for an individual chapter lesson is $2.99 or students can purchase the complete course set for $19.95.  

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

Life in Shakespeare's England.

 

The Drama Before Shakespeare.

 

London Theatres and Dramatic Companies.

 

Shakespeare's Life and Work.

 

Shakespeare's Language: His Development as Poet and Dramatist.

 

Editions and Editors of Shakespeare.

 

Shakespeare Criticism.

 

COMEDIES.

The Taming of the Shrew.

 

A Midsummer Night's Dream.

 

The Merchant of Venice.

 

Much Ado About Nothing.

 

As You Like It.

 

Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will.

 

Measure for Measure.

 

HISTORIES.

The Tragedy of King Richard the Third.

 

The Tragedy of King Richard the Second.

 

The First Part of King Henry the Fourth.

 

The Life of King Henry the Fifth.

 

TRAGEDIES.

Romeo and Juliet.

 

Julius Caesar.

 

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

 

Othello, the Moor of Venice.

 

King Lear.

 

Macbeth.

 

Antony and Cleopatra.

 

ROMANCES.

The Winter's Tale.

 

The Tempest.

 

POEMS.

Sonnets.

 

 

 

Appendix 1. Canon, Dates, and Early Texts

 

Appendix 2. Sources.

 

Appendix 3. Shakespeare in Performance.

 

Appendix 4. Films and Videos as a Guide to the Study of Shakespeare.

 

The Royal Genealogy of England.

 

Maps.

 

Bibliography.

 

Textual Notes.

 

Glossary of Shakespearean Words.

 

Index.

    Extracted from the best-selling Complete Works of Shakespeare, 5/e by David Bevington, The Necessary Shakespeare offers the most comprehensive scholarly apparatus, with the most often taught of Shakespeare's work, creating a concise yet complete anthology.

    Roughly half the length of the complete works, this briefer, more economical paperback features the complete texts of Shakespeare's twenty most popular plays, plus the complete sonnets. All of the perennial favorites are included, with full annotations and editorial notes, including extensive introductions to the plays and poems, sources for each play, and an overview of the stage history of performances.

  • 0321272501The Necessary Shakespeare, 2/E
    Bevington
    © 2005 | Longman | Paper; 1136 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321272501 | ISBN-13: 9780321272508
    Brief Description

The Necessary Shakespeare Third Edition David Bevington

“The Necessary Shakespeare distills the best, the most often read, and the most often produced of Shakespeare’s great plays. By publishing this selection in a compact paperback edition, my hope is to expose a new broader audience to the work of perhaps the greatest author in the history of the English language.”

–From the Preface, The Necessary Shakespeare, Third Edition

This remarkable volume comprises not only twenty-one of Shakespeare’s plays but also all of the sonnets, accompanied by a comprehensive General Introduction that addresses questions of context, language, and critical reception, and appendices that explore dates and alternate texts, sources, and Shakespeare in performance–an extraordinary and indeed necessary collection.

COMEDIES

The Taming of the Shrew
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Merchant of Venice
Much Ado About Nothing
As You Like It
Twelfth Night; Or, What You Will
Measure for Measure

HISTORIES

The Tragedy of King Richard the Third
The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
The First Part of King Henry the Fourth
The Life of King Henry the Fifth

TRAGEDIES

Romeo and Juliet
Julius Caesar
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Othello, the Moor of Venice
King Lear
Macbeth
Antony and Cleopatra

ROMANCES

The Winter's Tale
The Tempest

POEMS

Sonnets

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